1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to portable cribs and carriers for infants, and, more particularly, to inflatable cribs and carriers for infants.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The concept of protecting babies by a cushion of air is not a new concept. Moreover, the idea of using air to support a body, such as with air mattresses, is similarly not a new idea. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,738,411, patented Dec. 3, 1929, a rest and exercising appliance is disclosed which includes a circular hollow tube or outer ring disposed about the periphery of an inner portion comprising a compartmentalized floor. Air pressure is used to support the structure. The inner floor portion if inflatable and it uses ribs for limiting the vertical expansion of the bottom. The ribs provide compartments which are interconnected so that only a single valve is required for inflating the apparatus. The outer ring is also inflatable by a valve separate from the inner portion, and the outer ring is apparently separable from the inner portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,018,492, patented Jan. 30, 1962, discloses a protective bumper device which includes a plurality of individual elements, namely four, which are secured together at their ends and which are arranged in a square configuration and placed within a playpen of an infant. The protective bumper device accordingly protects an infant as an infant rolls or crawls within the playpen by preventing the infant's head from bumping against the bars of the playpen. In one embodiment of the U.S. Pat. No. 3,018,492 apparatus, each of the four elements are connected by a one-way valve to allow inflation and deflation from a single location. In a second embodiment, each of the elements is separate and has its own valve for inflation and deflation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,513,489 discloses a bassinette made out of a plurality of tubular elements which extend about the periphery of a flexible bottom wall to define air inflatable side and end walls which, together with the flexible bottom wall, comprise a bassinette. There is communication between the various elements which comprise the side and end walls so that a single valve element may be used to inflate or deflate the entire bassinette apparatus.
Another type of inflatable apparatus for infants is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,761,975. The U.S. Pat. No. 3,761,975 apparatus includes a single inflatable chamber which includes a plurality of peripheral air pockets disposed about a central pad area. The peripheral chamber area is configured to encourage an infant to roll towards the center of the central pad area to prevent the infant from rolling against the peripheral wall area.
An inflatable crib is described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,833,947. The U.S. Pat. No. 3,833,947 apparatus describes a generally rectangular inflatable crib apparatus which is inflatable from a single valve. The base of the apparatus is inflatable, as are the wall portions. The two portions of the crib apparatus, the base and the wall portions, each include separate valves for separate inflation and deflation. However, the wall portion is continuous and is not compartmentalized.
While a single valve is convenient for inflating and deflating an apparatus, there is also an inherent deficiency which offsets the convenience. The deficiency is simply that a single puncture will result in the deflation of the entire apparatus. The inherent disadvantage is not rectified or overcome by using a plurality of tubular elements which are simply separate parts of a single chamber when still inflated and deflated by a single valve.